The Hopeless Romantics Series (Part I: Love Beneath The Lyrics)
by 3riqTh3nigma
Summary: The Hopeless Romantics Series is a series of stories involving original characters finding love in some of the most typical yet compelling ways possible. The first chapter of the series focuses on a young musician who finds a cliche way to confess his feelings to his best friend.


(Plot: Tony has always been a rather misunderstood soul, often feeling awkward or out of place within his own life. The only way he knows how to express himself is through his music. And the only person he has that he can rely on is his best friend Rose. So what happens when Tony decides to play a special song he wrote for the girl of his dreams?)

Tony looked down at his cell phone for about the third time in the last 60 seconds, secretly waiting for some kind of sign that what he wanted to do was the right decision. "Once you call her, there's no going back." He told himself, not realizing that all he was doing was adding even more pressure to the situation than what was previously there. This was a big moment for Tony, that much was certain. On one hand, by calling his best friend Rose and telling her to come over to hear the song he wrote for her, he was committing himself to play it and he couldn't back out. But that also meant he'd have to indirectly expose the fact that he loved her…to her, which given his complete lack of self-confidence was going to be far from the easiest thing for him to do. He'd struggled to write the song for weeks, and struggled even more to keep Rose in the dark about it. She had tried multiple ways to break him into giving her even the smallest clue, from making him his favorite dinner (three times), buying him a new guitar pick, and even convincing him to play the melody to see if she could read the song's mood. Luckily, two weeks of bribery had no legitimate results, so she made him swear to play her the song the minute he finished it. He'd just finished the song and gone over it at least twice. Due to his promise, he had to call her. He took a deep breath, picked up the phone, and tapped the only contact under the "lifeline" category in his contacts: Rose Hatchett. It only rang for about five seconds before the most beautiful sound in the world hit his ears.

"Hi Tony!" Said Rose in her usual cheery tone.

"H..hi Rose." Tony replied rather nervously.

"How ya feeling today?" Rose asked as she readjusted herself by placing her skateboard and tools on the floor so she could lay down. In truth, she was just thinking about calling him. Tony had been so busy writing this song that she unfortunately knew nothing about the last two weeks, she had to call him to talk rather than it being an equal balance. And to Rose, any change in the dynamic between her and her best friend/secret crush wouldn't go unnoticed.

"I..i'm fine, I guess." Tony replied. Immediately Rose picked up on something. Tony sounded…off. She was used to him sounding timid because it's just who he is. He's not a naturally loud person, rather he's reserved. One of the many things she loved about him. But now he sounded nervous, almost scared. Like she could almost see him sweating on the other end of the line. This was new, and she wasn't a fan. Why would he be afraid? "You okay, Tone?" She asked, using the pet name she gave him not long after they first met. "You sound a bit.. flustered. Need me to come over? I'm not exactly busy." Rose replied, secretly wishing she didn't come off what she felt was passive-aggressive.

"Y…yeah you can come over. But really, I'm okay. I just finished my song, and I was gonna ask if you wanted to come over so I could p…play it for you." Tony seemingly rushed out.

"OMG it's finally done? Like completely finished?" Rose said, not trying in the least to hide her excitement. Tony was a bit surprised, but in context he sort of expected this kind of reaction.

"Yeah." He replied.

"Tony, I'm on my way. Stay breathing, I'll see you in ten." Rose said before abruptly hanging up. She practically threw herself off her bed and into her closet, carefully yet quickly scanning through her clothes looking for the perfect outfit. If she got lucky, it would really catch his eye. Meanwhile, Tony just stared at his cell. He really did it. This was gonna happen. He scanned his bedroom. His guitar stood at attention leaning up against his bed. His bedroom was in good enough order. Paper lay scattered across the desk by his window, but those belonged to Rose, so he left them there. His floor was clean, as was the rest of his one bedroom apartment. As many problems as he had, like depression or overactive anxiety, being a slob was never one of them. This fact, among other factors is why he moved out of his parents' home two years ago. Looking back, it was a defining moment in his life, in both the best and worse way possible. It's how he first met Rose, but the circumstances still haunted him.

*Flashback*

"That was awesome! Dana, please tell me you caught that!" Rose practically shouted at her skateboarding partner Dana. The two had met up about thirty minutes prior at around 2PM and began filming almost immediately. Since Dana was rather new to skateboarding, Rose volunteered to take her under her wing until she learned the basics and maybe joined a local crew. They were right across the street from The Skate Zoo, by far the most popular skate spot in the city. A year ago, it was a community center, but due to financial issues it relocated to another more populated area of town leaving the building an empty shell. That is until local skaters started redesigning the interior, creating the Skate Zoo as it is today. But because Dana was a rookie, Rose decided to train her across the street in an empty parking lot. But feeling a bit frisky, Rose attempted a Double 180, a move she'd only pulled off once in the Zoo.

"I totally did! It came out real clean too." Dana said as she reviewed the footage from the camera video. Rose picked up her board and headed over to where Dana was standing to look at the footage, when out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a guy walking down the street, heading towards the Zoo. He looked about her height, maybe a little taller. He had long black shaggy hair, and was wearing a long-sleeved navy green sweater and black jeans, with Converse sneakers. Before long, Dana looked up and saw him as well.

"Oooh, he's kinda cute." Whispered Dana.

"I know. And from the way he's dressed, he looks like my kinda guy!" Rose said back. They watched him walk up to, and then enter the community center.

"That's weird." Rose said, right after he disappeared behind the glass door.

"What?" Dana replied.

"He just went into the Zoo, but he didn't have a board. And he looked a little…disheveled." Rose replied,

"Really? I mean, he did look a little confused I guess." Dana replied, already forgetting about the situation.

"I think I'm gonna go after him…" Rose said as she started inching towards the building. This threw Dana off a bit.

"Wait Rose, you don't know that guy. What if he's like…a junkie or something?" Dana said. This drew Rose's attention, though only momentarily.

"What do you mean?" Rose asked. "Well, you said he didn't have a board, right?" Rose nodded. "Someone told me the second floor was never done in the Zoo, so they told me junkies like to hang out up there." Dana said, a bit worriedly. Rose pondered what she said for a moment, before letting out a light sigh.

"Dana, I promise you that's just a rumor. Wait here, I'll be right back." Rose said as she hopped on her board and headed for the Zoo. Within a few seconds she was inside. The walls were covered in graffiti from skate gangs trying to claim it. Three huge ramps, two sets of guard rails and piles of crates outlining a crater in the floor sat where the main office once stood. But heading towards the wall was a staircase covered by a wall. She listened and soon heard footsteps. Assuming it was the guy, she started after him. When she got to the staircase, she stopped as did the footprints. Now she was a bit nervous. What if Dana was right? Rose had never actually been inside any of the rooms on the second floor. For all she knew, there could actually be a drug rave going on in any of those rooms right now, and she didn't wanna walk in on that kinda party. A bit disappointed, she started to turn around and head out. But then she heard the footsteps again. Whoever it was, they were headed up to the rooftop, that much was obvious now. She'd been up there once, it was nice. With a weird new sense of confidence, she started to head up, leaving her board underneath a rail on the first floor before heading up. As she walked through the second floor, she heard the door to the rooftop open and close, confirming that her mystery man was up there. Before heading up to the roof, she peeked into one of the rooms on the second floor. It was set up like a classroom. Other than being dusty, it looked normal. Satisfied, she headed up to the roof. But midway up the staircase, something caught her eye. It was a folded piece of paper, almost like a note. The boy must have dropped it on his way up. She picked it up, and immediately got a weird vibe she couldn't explain. Against her better judgment, she unfolded the paper. It was a letter. She began to read it, and almost immediately felt a chill go down her spine.

To Whom It May Concern,

I'm sorry it's come to this, but I just couldn't carry on like this anymore.

The world will be better off without someone like me ruining everything. To my mother and father, I'm sorry I was never the son you wanted me to be. To my brother and Augustine, I truly hope you two are happy together. I'm sorry I stood in the way for so long. I should have let go a long time ago. To anyone else, Just forget about me. I'm not worth remembering. I'm sorry, and I love you all.

Best Wishes,

Tony

Rose's hands trembled as she lifted her eyes from the paper. It was a suicide note. The guy was gonna kill himself. She wanted to cry, but fought the urge. Instead, she dropped the paper and bolted up the rest of the staircase, hoping she wasn't too late to save him. As soon as she made it up, she looked around. Sure enough, she saw the guy standing on the ledge, looking down at the back alley of the Zoo. She bolted over to him, desperate to stop him.

"STOP!" She screamed as she was mere feet away from him. Tony turned around and saw a girl running at him. The shock nearly sent him over as he began to lose balance. But Rose got there and pulled him off the ledge and to safety. He fell right next to her and looked over. She was panting as if she'd just run a million miles. She then looked over at him, and jumped to her feet. Immediately, she reached her hand out and helped him to his feet. As soon as they were both standing, she grabbed him and pulled him in for what felt like the tightest hug he'd ever felt.

"I'm so glad you're still alive!" Rose cried into his shoulder as she hugged him. He was so confused as to what was happening, he was speechless. Who was she? Why was she hugging him so hard? How did she know he'd be up here? And why did she stop him? Finally she let go of him and stepped back to take a good look at him. This gave him a chance to get a look at his "hero". She was around his height, maybe two-three inches shorter. She had red hair with highlights of white and pink on either side. She wore a skull necklace similar to one he had seen in a department store once. She was wearing a solid black t-shirt, a sleeveless jean jacket, a denim skirt, knee high socks and Converse sneakers. Definitely athletic. More than likely a skater. She was gorgeous regardless. But this didn't tell him anything.

"Ummm…." Tony started.

"Oh my god…. are you okay?" Rose started, sounding panicked.

"Y…yes I'm fine." Tony replied.

"I don't mean to be rude, but what in the world were you thinking? You nearly died!" Rose began, speaking quickly, without a doubt concerned. She noticed a tear beginning to fall on his face.

"I'm sorry you had to see that. But….you don't understand. I needed to do that. I don't have anything left. I need to go. There's nothing left for me. I just want this nightmare to be over. You should have let me go." Tony finished, letting the tears fall down his face as he stood there and silently wept.

"Tell me what's going on, Tony." Rose said. Tony was surprised that she said his name but began anyway. Tony wiped his eyes and leaned against the ledge, standing right next to Rose. He told her everything. His parents had recently divorced, and seemed to be more interested in undermining each other than giving a damn about either of their two sons. He was an outcast in high school whose senior moment was admitting he hated himself to a close friend, only for that "friend" to spread a rumor that he was suicidal, which landed him in therapy. That rep followed him around everywhere. His father also seemed to hate him with a passion, belittling him every chance he got and seeming to get a kick out of making him feel worthless. He'd been treating depression for months. And worst of all: his girlfriend of the past three years Augustine had broken up with him after he found out she'd had sex with his father, and was seeing his brother Germaine behind his back. His mother was in rehab for a drug overdose and even before then had never gone out of her way to acknowledge him. He had no one. He felt like no one. When he finished, Rose didn't say anything. She just walked away through the door and headed down the stairs. Tony sunk to the ground and covered his face. He couldn't believe he'd just poured his heart to a stranger. But then he saw her come back up. She was holding a piece of paper. He stood up and patted himself, looking for something. She knew what.

"Looking for this?" Rose said as she held up his note between two of her fingers.

"Where did you get that?" He asked her.

"You dropped it on the staircase. It's how I found you." Rose replied, before tearing it in half. Again. And again. And again until it was nothing but shreds. He watched, somewhat horrified.

"Why would you do that?" He asked when she dropped the shreds, slightly offended at how bold she was to do that right in front of him. Rose looked deep into his eyes, and walked up to him. She grabbed the sides of his face, and put her forehead to his. "Tony, listen to me..." Rose started, but Tony interrupted her. "How do you know my name again?" Tony asked. If it annoyed her, she didn't let him see it. "We've been over this, I read your note. Now pay attention..." Rose said without a hint of frustration in her voice.

"I know you've had a rough time lately, and I know it feels like you don't have any other choice. But Tony, you can't do that. You have people that need you, people you can't abandon." Rose said. Tony just sunk his head, and gently began trying to push her away.

"No, I don't. My father hates me, my brother and his new girlfriend would be glad to get rid of me...and my mom is so strung out on drugs, she probably doesn't even remember she has kids." Tony finished, as he broke away from her, and turned away. He started walking towards the edge. Almost on instinct, she grabbed his shirt and pulled him in. As strange as this was about to sound, she meant every word of her next statement. "You do have someone to live for, Tony. Me. I need you. If living for yourself isn't enough right now, then live for me." Rose said. "Live for you? You don't even know me." He replied.

"I know that, but listen to me. For the longest time I've been looking for something...real. Something or someone I could believe in. Then I saw you, and I got...i got this weird feeling...I can't explain it. But I don't want it, or you to go away. I need to figure out what this feeling is, but that requires you to…you know…still exist. Who knows? Maybe we can help each other. But please, give me a chance." Rose finished. Tony didn't know what to say as he stood there staring at her as she maintained a solid grip on his shoulders. This was a lot to process. Almost too much. Everyone he'd ever let into his life has let him down. He didn't think he had it in him to trust someone again. But on the other hand, this girl technically just saved his life. She didn't know him, yet she put herself on the line like this. She was beautiful, obviously very bold and genuinely seemed to care about him. He couldn't deny he was intrigued. Finally, he gave in. "Okay." He said. Rose squealed and nearly killed him in yet another crushing hug. He silently hoped she wouldn't accidentally kill him like this, because for all that he could've stepped in front of a bus. Same pain, much less time alive to feel it. Finally she let go, smiling. He liked her smile. "From now on, anything you need, I'm your girl. I'm gonna have your back, 'kay?" Rose said as she stepped back, and offered her hand to Tony. After some slight hesitation, he took her hand as she began to lead him towards the door. Before they left, Tony had one question he needed to ask.

"Um...what's your name, exactly?"

"Hm?" Rose replied. "Your name. You called me by my name this whole time. And if we're gonna be...friends...i guess I should know your name." Tony stated nervously. "Oh...friends..." Rose said, almost in a whisper. She shook her head and immediately perked up again.

"It's a start, I guess." She thought to herself. Then she realized Tony was now staring at her a bit confused. She giggled, and squeezed his hand. "My name's Rose. Rose Hatchett."

That occurred over a year and a half ago, and all that time Rose had lived up to her word. The two almost immediately became best friends. They did and went everything together. Rose showed him what it was like to cut loose of life's problems and just have fun. She made it her mission to teach him how to skate and in exchange he agreed to teach her how to play the guitar. Even though neither of those ideas went well, they had fun regardless. She inspired him to move out of his family home and cut off all ties to his father, especially after the old bastard she knew as his father tried to come onto her the one time she came to his house looking for him. His brother has reached out to him several times over the last few months, but he's not ready yet. For now, the only person flowing through his mind was Rose. He only hoped this wouldn't ruin everything.

Meanwhile Rose, finally satisfied with her outfit after at least eight different combinations, was ready. She stole a quick glance at her mirror, locked up her flat and took off in her trusty Audi A3. She only lived about five minutes from Tony's apartment, so she ultimately decided to take her time getting there so she could compose herself and maybe not come off so jittery. Before long, she was calm and sat outside his apartment. She parked across the street in her usual spot (close enough to the fire hydrant that nobody could box her in by parking behind her, but well enough away from it that she couldn't get a ticket) and now stood at his door. She started to knock, but instead put her ear to the door. She heard faint music, meaning he likely wouldn't hear her. So she reached in her back pocket and fished his spare key from out of her phone case, letting herself in. As soon as she closed the door, the music stopped. She took that as her cue to head to his bedroom so she made her way through his tiny hallway. It was egg-white and devoid of any photos, much like the rest of his apartment. Finally making it to his door, she did the usual triple tap before entering his room. Tony sat on his bed, his room tidy as usual save for her old letters that sat on his windowsill. She made a mental note to clean that up before she left, knowing Tony would likely let it stay there forever rather than admit it bothered him considering he hated messes. He finally turned his attention from the constantly loose string on his guitar to her. She wore her hair down, all her natural dark blonde color save for a medium sized fiery red streak on the left side, partly tucked behind her ear. She had on her signature sleeveless denim jacket which covered a solid white tank top. Her black meteorite skull necklace had gold beads separating the skulls, giving off a slight glimmer effect. She had on her favorite cut up denim jeans, and her favorite solid black low-cut Converse sneakers. His chest was beating a mile a minute now. She put effort into this outfit, he could tell. This was officially the point of no return.

"Um, Tony?" Rose said, snapping him out of his temporary trance. He stumbled to put words together, but managed to get out a variation of "Hi, Rose" and "You look amazing". Normally she would get a small kick out of seeing him so flustered, but this time all she could do was smile and lightly blush. He had a weirdly satisfying effect on her. She slid the beanbag chair by his bed to the center of the room, and sat down. There was a brief moment of silence as the two just sat staring at each other before Rose finally snapped the trance either he was trying to put on her or she was trying to put on him.

"So….the song?" Rose said.

"Huh?" Tony said, still in a bit of a daze.

"You said you finished the song, right?" Rose asked, inside holding in a laugh at Tony's dazed expression. He then shook his head, clearly back on planet Earth.

"Oh, right. Sorry." He said, a bit embarrassed.

"It's cool. You okay, though? You seem a bit off." Rose said, a tiny bit concerned.

"Oh me? I'm f..fine. Promise. Just a little nervous, I g…guess." He replied, setting his guitar on his lap.

"Don't sweat it, Tone. I know you've been working on this song like crazy the last few weeks. I just wanna make sure you're not pushing yourself. I'm ready…" She motioned towards him with her hand, "when you are." She finished. Tony nodded, shook his hair, and took a deep breath. Rose couldn't help but get excited. If he put this much work into a song, it was bound to be an instant classic. The moment he started playing, her assumption was validated. The song got off to an eerily slow start, but before she knew it the beat began to kick in. It picked up pace, before finally drawing back into a slow melody to close it off. The song described the tale of a young boy who meets a fiery-eyed girl and goes on adventures of the wild and crazy caliber, only to realize that the adventure was her all along. Tony played the majority of the song with his eyes closed, as it allowed him to almost take himself there within the song alongside the characters. When the song finished, he looked at Rose for the first time in about three minutes, although it felt like time had stopped the second he began playing. She had tears in her eyes, and upon him turning his attention to her, she began slowly clapping before wiping her eyes. He smiled shyly, relieved she liked the song. Rose stood up and wiped the sides of her face, before walking over and sitting next to Tony on the edge of his bed.

"Tony?" Rose started.

"Yeah?" He replied.

"Do you have a title for that song?" She asked. Every song she'd ever heard him play had a title with meaning. The first song he'd ever written completely by himself since his band disbanded in high school was titled "Transition", showing his transition as a solo artist. But Rose's favorite (prior to this one) was "Catching Hummingbirds", which was about trying to catch up to how fast his life seemed to be moving.

"Yeah." He said back.

"Well, what is it?" Rose said, a bit anxiously. She immediately chastised herself for it, worried it made Tony nervous. The titles had always been a personal thing that she usually waited for him to reveal to her. This was a first for the both of them. Tony hesitated for a bit before responding, making Rose wonder if she'd made a mistake.

"Sorry, I know the titles are usually really personal. It's ok if you don't tell me. This is still my new favorite song." Rose said, standing up and stretching. Tony didn't pick his head up.

"Forever Girl." Tony said. "The song is called Forever Girl." She looked down at him. Rose didn't expect him to tell her. This was a nice surprise. She sat back down and looked at him. His head was still down, but she could see hints of a smile through his hair. She put her arm around him, and rested her head on his shoulder.

"So, what do you t..think?" Tony asked.

"About the title or the song?" Rose replied.

"B..Both I guess."

"Easy." Rose said, sitting up so she could look at Tony. "The song is the best one I've heard from you, and the title suits the song perfectly because it's beautiful." Rose said with a smile.

"Not as beautiful as you, though." Tony said. Rose immediately felt her cheeks go full cherry red, and she looked down with a slight attempt to hide her smile. Tony was just as surprised he'd said it. He thought it, but he hadn't planned on saying it. He was a bit nervous he'd made things weird, though he had to admit she looked beautiful when she blushed. _"Is this it? Is this the moment I tell her how I feel?"_ Tony thought in his head. It felt right. The time had arrived. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Rose noticed, and slid over just a bit to give him a little more space.

"Rose?" Tony started.

"What's up, Tone?" She replied.

"There's something I need to tell you." He said.

"I'm all ears." Rose said, smiling. Again, Tony took a deep breath.

"I….umm…." Tony was cut off by his face being shifted to the right. The next thing he saw was Rose's face, her eyes closed as she kissed him. Shock quickly turned to satisfaction as he closed his eyes and did the best he could to return the kiss. Upon feeling his lips suddenly come alive, Rose smiled and deepened the kiss, taking in every sensation she felt from the moment. Nothing compared to it. Fireworks weren't bright or loud enough. Christmas felt like just another Monday. She couldn't remember anything. It was all that and then some. When the two finally separated, Tony panted while Rose gently touched her lips. She then broke the silence.

"Love you?" Rose said. Tony just nodded. "Yeah. How did you know?" He asked.

"In all honesty, I had no idea where that was going. I'm gonna chalk that one up to luck." Rose said, rubbing the back of her neck. "At least we're even now."

"Wait, even? What do you mean?" Tony asked, now confused.

"Isn't is obvious? I….I love you too, Tony." Rose said. Now both their hearts were beating out of control.

"Really?" Tony said.

"Yeah. From the day we met, I knew there was something special about you. It didn't take me very long to realize I'd fallen in love. I wanted to say something, but I had to be sure you felt the same way. You're so naturally lovable and kind that I guess the mushy stuff went over my head. But yeah, I'm in love with you." Rose finished. Tony looked deep into her eyes, then into space, then back at her. She was serious about him. He smiled. She pulled him in for a hug. It was soft and loving up until Tony tightened up, trying to replicate her grip. She giggled when she realized what he was doing. When they let go, as if being pulled together by magnets attached to their hearts, they slowly began to close the space gap between them until they met in the middle for another powerful kiss, this one lasting a bit longer than the first. Before they knew it, Rose was basically straddling him as their bodies managed to shift positions without a second thought, with her now positioned on top of him as her hands clung to his cheeks, while his were planted firmly to her waist. Once again, their kissing left them short of breath, so they stopped.

"You know something I just realized?" Rose asked him.

"What?" Tony replied.

"I wanted to date you from the day we met. Which basically means….you made me wait a year and a half for no reason!" Rose said, giggling.

"Well, you should have said s…something then." Tony said, smirking up at her.

"You should have said something!" Rose shot back, still giggling. Tony shook his head and sighed.

"I'm hopeless, a…aren't I?" Tony said with a light smile. Rose lowered her forehead to his, and gave him a light kiss on the lips before responding. "No, we're hopeless." She said, smiling as their lips came together yet again.

Somehow, Tony and Rose both knew things would only get more "hopeless" from now on. And they could live with that.

One Year Later…..

Tony did his best to stand still, trying to silently work out the pre-performance jitters while his band manager and fiancé Rose Hatchett straightened his tie before they took the stage. They were both getting used to the roar of the 5,000+ Toronto crowd as they began chanting "Anthem" over and over again, the band's moniker. Behind him stood Ryder Long, the band's second guitarist, as he got himself hyped up to go on stage. Once Tony's tie was straight, Rose leaned over and asked him "You all set?"

"Yeah, I'm ready to go!" Ryder shouted from behind them. Tony smiled as Rose rolled her eyes. She then turned around and asked the same question to lead drummer King Mitchell. But instead of shouting back, he simply gave a confirming head nod. "Man of few words," Tony started.

"And a whole lotta action!" Rose and King shouted in unison, earning a good laugh from the four. She then turned her attention to Tony, the love of her life and husband-to-be once this Anthem promotional tour was over. "I know you're ready. Go give them the Anthem." Rose said, pulling Tony in for a kiss before she'd have to give him to the crowd.

"I'll make you proud. Oh, and I love you." Tony said once they broke the kiss.

"I know. I love you too. Now go!" She playfully shouted as Tony and the band known as Anthem took the stage to a loud ovation. Rose watched as he shook his hair and began playing her favorite song, Forever Girl.

Fin


End file.
